Slave rebellion reenactment, voting from space, ‘warrior gene’ defense: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The state is offering money to help develop its inland ports. The Department of Economic and Community Affairs says it’s accepting applications for grants of as much as $1 million to help improve infrastructure at ports located away from the coast. Money could be used for improvements like storage, moorings, new construction and maintenance. The grants are being offered through a $5 million program created by state legislators this year. Alabama has inland ports along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway in western Alabama, and there are more port facilities located in Florence and in Jefferson County near Birmingham. The head of the state agency overseeing the program, Kenneth Boswell, says the grants will help inland ports increase cargo and get products to coastal areas.

Alaska

Juneau: The state’s public defender agency is referring more cases to the Office of Public Advocacy because of conflicts of interest with other cases or clients, according to a state oversight report released Monday. The number of conflicts jeopardizes the primary defense role the agency plays because the more cases it cannot do, the more the Office of Public Advocacy and contract attorneys will do, the report said. The public defender agency inconsistently reports the number of cases it has, has had higher caseloads in offices where it has struggled to recruit and keep attorneys, and would be more efficient with additional support staff, according to the report, which also suggested the agency could more effectively use its resources. Public Defender Samantha Cherot says her agency cooperated in the review.

Arizona

University of Arizona President Robert Robbins.
University of Arizona President Robert Robbins.

Tucson: A group of University of Arizona students is demanding the school’s president apologize for remarks he made using Native American stereotypes. Members of Native SOAR, a university mentoring program for Native American students, posted on social media Sunday that they want a face-to-face apology from President Robert Robbins, and he says he'll meet with them. According to the group, Robbins unexpectedly visited a class last month. He reportedly said he wasn’t trying to “pull an Elizabeth Warren,” but he had a DNA test done because he thought he might be part Cherokee. But he planned to get retested because of his “very high cheekbones.” The group also wants Robbins to open a position on his senior leadership team for someone who can represent tribal communities.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state’s Department of Human Services is closing offices in four counties by the end of 2020. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the department issued a news release Monday announcing its plans to shut down offices in DeWitt, Clarendon, Booneville and Osceola. The department said it will also launch an application processing center in Osceola by June 2021. The center will employ about 50 people using positions that will be shifted from other areas of the state. It also noted the planned changes come after the department studied how its 85 county offices could be better located around the recipients of programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and subsidized child care. The county offices authorize and process applications for the programs.

California

Los Angeles: Authorities seized more than $1.5 billion worth of illegally grown marijuana plants in the state this year – an amount an industry expert said is roughly equal to its entire legal market – as part of an annual eradication program, officials said Monday. The raids netted more than 950,000 plants from nearly 350 growing operation sites this year through the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting program, an effort known as CAMP that dates to 1983 and is considered the nation’s largest illegal marijuana eradication program. Authorities could not estimate a street value of the plants seized and based their figures on wholesale prices of $1,600 per plant. But Jerred Kiloh, president of the United Cannabis Business Association, said wholesale costs are doubled for the retail market – meaning the enforcement operation netted more than $3 billion worth of illegally grown pot.

Colorado

Grand Junction: A federal agency says rebuilding a sage-grouse population found only in Colorado and Utah could take more than 50 years and cost nearly $561 million. The Daily Sentinel reports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a draft recovery plan for the Gunnison sage grouse, which is listed as a threatened species. Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates the bird’s population at more than 3,000, primarily in the state’s Gunnison Basin. Officials say the bird is found only in eight western Colorado counties and one eastern Utah county. Planned recovery actions include invasive weed treatment and improved livestock grazing practices. The largest proposed expense is nearly $309 million to acquire conservation easements or purchase private lands.

Connecticut

Bridgeport: Environmental officials are announcing $2.6 million in grants for Long Island Sound conservation efforts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says 20 grants totaling $1.4 million will benefit Connecticut, while $250,000 will go to efforts in Massachusetts and Vermont and the rest to New York. The money benefits local projects meant to improve water quality and restore habitat around the Long Island Sound watershed. In Connecticut, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal says the matching funds will help communities install trash skimmers, restore salt marshes, spur growth of fish and bird populations, and support environmental education efforts. The EPA says the projects will treat 8.2 million gallons of stormwater, collect 46,000 pounds of floating trash and prevent 17,000 pounds of nitrogen from entering the vital estuary.

Delaware

Wilmington: Amid deer hunting season and shorter days, the state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is reminding drivers to be wary of deer. According to DNREC, at least half of all deer-involved crashes happen in the last three months of the year, with the highest number of deer hit on the roads occurring in late October through mid-November. A recent State Farm report showed that from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, drivers made 5,816 deer-vehicle crash insurance claims in Delaware, a 7% increase from the 5,435 during the same time period last year. This year, Delaware ranks 26th out of the 50 states and D.C. for where deer-vehicle collisions are most likely to occur, according to State Farm’s report.

District of Columbia

Washington: An independent investigation has determined that a regulatory agency in the district didn’t properly handle a complaint about an illegal rooming house that later caught fire, killing two people. The Washington Post reports the investigation by an outside consulting firm hired by the district was made public Friday. The overcrowded row house caught fire in August, killing 9-year-old Yafet Solomon and 40-year-old Fitsum Kebede. Authorities have said the house contained a deadly mixture of broken smoke detectors, narrow halls and barred exits. The investigation says authorities conducted only cursory property checks, didn’t follow up with the police officer who made the complaint, and ended their inquiry without appropriate approval or documentation.

Florida

Tallahassee: The state Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether felons can be kept from voting if they haven’t paid fines, fees and restitution. Lawyers for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, as well as those arguing on behalf of felons seeking their voting rights, will appear before the court Wednesday. Voters last year approved a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to most felons who have completed their sentences. But the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a bill requiring that all financial obligations related to their sentences be paid before rights could be restored. DeSantis signed the bill. Advocates for felons sued the state, saying the law implementing the amendment was equivalent to a poll tax. DeSantis asked the Supreme Court to clarify the amendment.

Georgia

Stone Mountain: Billed as the largest Native American gathering in the state, the four-day Native American Festival and Pow Wow is preparing for this week’s showcase of the culture through dance, music and more. The festival will be held Thursday through Sunday at Stone Mountain Park. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the event will feature tribes from across the U.S. and Central America. According to the event’s website, visitors can learn about the culture through “dance, music, authentic craft demonstrations, cooking traditions, storytelling, wildlife presentations and more.” Demonstrations will include skills such as flint-knapping, bow making, fire starting, open-fire cooking and pottery, plus an encampment where kids and adults can go inside traditional dwellings. Other popular highlights include the intertribal dance and drum competitions.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The City Council has proposed a bill that would create a new property tax category for homeowners operating bed-and-breakfast establishments. The Star-Advertiser reports the City Council approved the first reading of the bill last month. City officials say the bill could be in effect by July 1 if passed. Officials say tax rates for each category are determined by ordinance by the Council each June. Officials say the new category could fall somewhere between the standard residential category – currently $3.50 for every $1,000 of assessed value – and the $13.90 hotel-resort category. City officials expect to issue up to 1,700 new permits for hosted B&B operations starting in October 2020 after the Council approved a new vacation rental ordinance in June.

Idaho

Boise: The state’s Department of Health and Welfare says 10 people have been hospitalized with vaping-related illnesses. Boise television station KTVB reports health officials say no single substance has been associated with the cases. The illnesses are marked by respiratory symptoms including cough, shortness of breath and chest pain. Nationwide, roughly 33 people have died and nearly 1,900 people have been hospitalized in connection with the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says those numbers are expected to rise because of a lag in reporting.

Illinois

Chicago: Public housing residents in the city are being told they can’t smoke marijuana at home, even as pot turns legal in the state Jan. 1. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the Chicago Housing Authority began sending notices last week. The agency says it can terminate public aid if anyone is using marijuana for recreational or medical purposes on CHA property. CHA says marijuana is illegal under federal law, and it must follow the law to get federal money. Medical marijuana cards have been available in Illinois since 2014. Kate Walz of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law says people in public housing “don’t have the same rights as the rest of us do.” Jacqueline Reynolds says she’ll keep sparking a joint. The 67-year-old says marijuana keeps her off blood pressure medication.

Indiana

Lafayette: Three years after it was plucked from its perch near an Interstate 65 exit, the clock that was a local icon on top of the Hour Time Restaurant for four decades has a new owner and could have a new home soon. Lorne Koehler-Marsh, a landscaper who collects and repairs clocks, says he bought the clock – with its four 12-foot faces – with hopes of mounting it atop a tower at the front of a shop he wants to build on family property in Dayton. He says he’d hoped to buy the clock when memorabilia and fixtures at the Hour Time first went up for auction in 2016. But he skipped the auction, figuring the price would be too salty. “When I saw what it sold for,” Koehler-Marsh says, “I thought, ‘Crap, I wish I’d gone.’ ” It went for $7,500, and he finally convinced the new owner to part with it last month. The clock dates to 1910, built in Leicester, England. Weighing in at 7 tons, it originally sat on top of a train station in Rochdale, England.

Iowa

Madrid: The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation says it’s buying Clover Woods Camp & Retreat Center from the Iowa 4-H Foundation. The Natural Heritage Foundation said in a news release Monday that it’s made a deal for all 1,011 acres along the Des Moines River in Boone County. The price won’t be disclosed until the closing later this year. The 4-H Foundation was formed in 1949 to build the camp. It’s split into separate “villages” and includes a ropes course, climbing tower, swimming pool and 20 miles of trails. Iowa 4-H Foundation Executive Director Emily Saveraid has said the needs of 4-H participants and their families have changed, and they now prefer camping options closer to home. She says the foundation will focus more on camping and other outdoor activities at the county and regional levels.

Kansas

Topeka: A federal judge has delayed the trial of an Army infantry soldier who prosecutors say is a Satanist hoping to overthrow the U.S. government and distributed information about building bombs. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree in Topeka on Monday granted a request from attorneys for Jarrett William Smith to postpone a trial from early December until at least mid-January. Smith pleaded not guilty in September to charges of distributing explosives information and making a threatening interstate communication. His attorneys said they needed more time to review evidence. Smith was a private stationed at Fort Riley. He’s accused of providing information about explosives to an FBI undercover agent and threatening to burn down the house of a far-left-leaning “antifa” member. Authorities say he also wanted to car bomb a major news organization.

Kentucky

Frankfort: Officials say programs at Murray State University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College offer a certification ensuring graduates have essential employability skills that employers say are often lacking. A statement from the Council on Postsecondary Education says the Essential Employability Qualities certification tells employers that academic programs integrate skills into the curriculum including communication, collaboration, problem solving and ethics. The statement says two programs at Murray State are certified, as is one program at Bluegrass Community and Technical College. Officials say four other campuses are pursuing certification in at least three programs: Kentucky State University, University of Kentucky, Gateway Community and Technical College, and Jefferson Community and Technical College.

Louisiana

New Orleans: More than 200 years after the largest slave rebellion in American history, hundreds of reenactors will retrace their journey through the sugar plantation country of southeastern Louisiana. The reenactment was conceived by artist Dread Scott. His work focuses on racial injustice and oppression. The reenactors will dress in period costumes and carry machetes or muskets as they march 26 miles Friday and Saturday from LaPlace to the New Orleans outskirts. Scott says the project sprung from his interest in concepts of how people liberate themselves. He was also intrigued at learning about the little-known rebellion’s goals and how close it came to success. The slaves who carried out the rebellion intended to establish a free republic in New Orleans, but it was viciously put down.

Maine

Portland: Scientists and leaders from New England and Canada are gathering in Maine this week for an event focused on what the warming of the ocean will mean for the region. The Gulf of Maine 2050 International Symposium is taking place in Portland until Friday. Organizers say the event’s purpose is to “increase our collective understanding about how the Gulf of Maine is expected to change over the next 30 years and to promote regional resilience in the context of those changes.” The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than most of the world’s oceans. It’s also home to some of America’s most important fisheries, such as the lobster harvest. Among the keynote speakers is Ko Barrett, vice chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Maryland

Baltimore: Preliminary approval has been granted by the City Council to ban retailers from giving out plastic bags. The Baltimore Sun reports the council voted 13-1 on Monday night to ban the use of plastic bags and charge 5 cents to give any other kind of bag, including paper bags, to customers. Retailers would keep 4 cents of the fee, and the city would get 1 cent. Some products, such as newspapers, would be exempt from the rule. Another vote is planned for Nov. 18. If approved, the bill would advance to the mayor’s desk. He could sign the ban or allow it to take effect without his signature. Councilwoman Danielle McCray was the only person to vote against the proposal. She didn’t say why she opposed it.

Massachusetts

Boston: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is planning to spend $10 billion to $28 billion on updates to the commuter rail. The Boston Herald reports the Fiscal and Management Control Board approved a series of resolutions Monday directing the MBTA to start working on an overhaul of the commuter rail. The project is intended to decrease the number of commuters traveling by car by 2040. Potential updates could include the electrification of main commuter rail lines and running trains every 15 to 20 minutes all day. The most expensive version of these plans would include building a tunnel linking North and South stations. Gov. Charlie Baker would not confirm how the multibillion-dollar project will be funded.

Michigan

Detroit: Police officers, firefighters and paramedics in the city will be recognized for exceptional service to the community. The annual Above and Beyond Awards ceremony is scheduled Wednesday at the MGM Grand in Detroit. Those recognized will include 19 officers from the 5th and 9th precincts who helped evacuate more than 100 people from a burning apartment complex for the elderly Sept. 23. Detroit Emergency Medical Services Asst. Superintendent Joseph Barney said he arrived to see “a swarm” of officers “literally running into the building like a flood.” He added that their “actions certainly saved lives.” Paramedics Justin Kidd and Madison Stitt will receive Medal of Valor awards. On May 8, they helped stop an attack by a pitbull on a 13-year-old girl. The awards are presented by the Detroit Public Safety Foundation.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Wildlife managers say they’re close to rounding up enough trash bins to dispose of deer carcasses in zones of the state where they’re trying to stop the spread of chronic wasting disease. One vendor, Waste Management, recently decided not to accept carcasses that potentially might be contaminated. That has sent the Department of Natural Resources scrambling to find replacements ahead of Saturday’s firearms deer season opener. DNR wildlife health program supervisor Michelle Carstensen told reporters Monday that she’s not sure if they’ll hit their goal of 26 dumpsters statewide, but there’s a good chance they’ll have 20. The DNR requires hunters in parts of southeastern, central and north-central Minnesota where diseased deer have been found to submit their deer for mandatory testing, and it urges them to use designated bins for disposing of carcasses.

Mississippi

Jackson: Pet dogs can now dine with their owners under certain conditions at restaurants. The Mississippi State Department of Health’s new policy went into effect Friday. Restaurants must apply for a variance to the department’s food code to allow the animals and pay a $165 inspection fee. Under the new policy, a restaurant must have a separate outside entrance into a designated outdoor, dog-friendly area. Dogs, who must remain leashed, are not allowed to go indoors – unless considered a service dog. Disposable dishes and utensils are required, and dogs can’t come into contact with any items involved in food service operations. Employees cannot touch or handle the animals. More information is available online.

Missouri

Columbia: After spending eight days in a tree to protest construction of a mid-Missouri nature trail, activist Sutu Forte has been arrested. The Columbia Missourian reports that city authorities on Tuesday removed Forte from the tree by using a fire truck’s hydraulic bucket. She was handcuffed and taken to jail but released a short time later. Forte says the police “handcuffed me very gently.” One of her supporters held the summons Forte was given by police that indicated a charge of first-degree trespassing. Police Chief Geoff Jones and a city spokesman declined comment. Supporters in the crowd sang “This Little Light of Mine” as Forte was brought down from the tree. Forte had staged the protest since Oct. 28 over concerns that the trail extension would lead to forest destruction.

Montana

Missoula: The city is not known for moose, but there will be a lot more “PaddleHeads” around when the next baseball season opens. The Missoula Osprey announced plans Monday to change its name to PaddleHeads with an updated logo and merchandise displaying the moose nickname, The Missoulian reports. The team decided 11 months ago to change its nickname as part of a rebranding to revive falling attendance. The Rookie Advanced affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks plays in the Pioneer League from June to September. The organization received nearly 500 name suggestions submitted online, and team officials were on a conference call with a consultant in March discussing the six finalists, says Matt Ellis, team executive vice president. Of PaddleHeads, “I said, ‘I’ve got one problem: I don’t equate a moose to the heart of Missoula.’ Just then our phones lit up with an alert,” Ellis says. “There was a moose in downtown Missoula, a block from our office.”

Nebraska

Yutan: The Nebraska Army National Guard has established a new infantry battalion – an outfit that a general says could help recruitment. The 2nd Battalion, 134th Infantry Regiment was activated during a ceremony Saturday at the guard’s parachute landing area near Yutan. It was followed by a parachute jump by more than 100 members from a helicopter hovering 1,000 feet in the air. The Omaha World-Herald reports that the Nebraska Army National Guard has been dominated by support units for years. Brig. Gen. Lynn Heng, the Nebraska Army Guard’s land component commander, says adding an infantry battalion should boost state recruiting. He says the new battalion is “a very attractive unit for these young folks who are looking for adventure, joining the guard.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: Public safety officials in the state are beginning a drive to improve pedestrian safety with chalk silhouettes on roads, reflective bands for people crossing streets, and advisories for motorists. Vulnerable Road Users Project chief Erin Breen at UNLV says a “Dusk 2 Dawn” campaign kicked off Monday in and around Las Vegas, where 91 white outlines mark spots where pedestrians have died in recent years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ranked Nevada the fifth-most-dangerous state for pedestrians in 2017, with a little more than three pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents. Clark County, including Las Vegas, ranked 11th among 25 counties in the U.S. with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities per year in 2014 through 2018. Officials say pedestrian fatalities tend to increase during evening darkness following the end of daylight saving time.

New Hampshire

Allenstown: A graveside service is planned for two suspected victims of a serial killer who were identified decades after their remains were discovered in a barrel in 1985. A public service is scheduled Saturday afternoon at Saint John the Baptist Cemetery for Marlyse Honeychurch, 24, and 6-year-old daughter Marie Vaughn. They were buried in an Allenstown cemetery with a headstone that said they were known “only to God.” Authorities found a total of four decomposed bodies. This year, they confirmed the identities of Honeychurch, Vaughn and 1-year-old Sarah Lynn McWaters, another daughter of Honeychurch. The victims’ families said in a statement that they “are grateful to the residents of Allenstown who never ceased in their compassion, thoughts and prayers for these young women.”

New Jersey

Madison: Weather authorities have confirmed it was a tornado that damaged homes and vehicles in northern New Jersey on Halloween night. The National Weather Service says the EF-1 tornado in Morris County touched down in Harding Township shortly before 12:30 a.m. Friday packing winds up to 100 mph. The twister snapped trees and brought down utility lines while traveling almost 5 miles to the borough of Florham Park. At Drew University, it brought down numerous trees, some of them crushing several vehicles. Another tree northeast of downtown Madison crushed the front porch of a home and another uprooted tree fell onto another residence. No injuries were reported. NJ.com reports the storms knocked power out to about a quarter of Madison’s homes and businesses.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The state Supreme Court debated Monday whether a murder defendant should have been allowed to introduce evidence that he has a genetic predisposition to violence. At issue is whether a district court acted properly in excluding evidence of a so-called warrior gene variant linked to a predisposition toward aggressive and violent behavior as it weighed murder charges against Anthony Blas Yepez. The Supreme Court listened to oral arguments from opposing attorneys without yet issuing a decision. Yepez was convicted in the killing of his girlfriend’s 75-year-old step-grandfather during a domestic dispute in 2012. He is serving a 22-year sentence for second-degree murder with additional time for auto theft and tampering with evidence.

New York

Niagara: Parks officials are monitoring a century-old grounded barge that briefly broke loose during a storm last week in the river just above Niagara Falls. WGRZ says the rusty iron scow had been stuck since 1918 on rocks in the upper rapids above the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side. High winds and rain last Thursday dislodged it before it got stuck again. The Washington Post says it was originally about a third of a mile from the brink of Horseshoe Falls. Then it moved about 164 feet downstream and became lodged again. A Niagara Parks official said it could be stuck in its new location for days or years.

North Carolina

Waynesville: An attempt to tree a bear has ended with a hunter injured and the bear dead. North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission Capt. Andrew Helton says the hunter rolled off a slight cliff with the 350-pound bear Saturday. He says the hunter was with another man who had shot the bear while it was in a tree near Mount Sterling in Haywood County. The bear fell out of the tree and began biting the hunter. The bear walked away after the two tumbled off the cliff. Helton says Wildlife Resource officers found the bear dead Sunday. It was taken to a state Department of Agriculture lab for rabies testing. The hunter was taken to a hospital in Asheville with several injuries.

North Dakota

Bismarck: State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has asked South Dakota authorities to help investigate an agency that allegedly violated state law on contract bidding. Auditor Joshua Gallion released a report last month that said the Department of Commerce violated the law on bidding uncompetitive contracts totaling more than $87,000 for the state’s new “Be Legendary” logo. The logo sparked criticism earlier this year when the contract for it was awarded to a Minnesota firm headed by a woman who once worked for Gov. Doug Burgum’s old Fargo software business. In a letter, Stenehjem does not give a reason for asking for South Dakota’s help but says it’s allowed under North Dakota law. The Commerce Department says it did nothing wrong but has identified where some improvements can be made.

Ohio

U.S. Bank Arena is now Heritage Bank Center.
U.S. Bank Arena is now Heritage Bank Center.

Cincinnati: An arena has a new name after U.S. Bank decided not to renew its naming rights agreement with the site. Officials have announced the new name of the former U.S. Bank Arena will be Heritage Bank Center. The 17,000-seat indoor arena downtown has been the host to musical acts including James Brown and Led Zeppelin, as well as the home arena for the Cincinnati Cyclones hockey team. It has had several names since first opening in 1975 as Riverfront Coliseum. Chris Caddell, chairman of Erlanger, Kentucky-based Heritage Bank, said Monday that the center plans to attract events with the power to draw people from the region and beyond. Financial details of the 10-year naming rights agreement with arena owner Nederlander Entertainment weren’t disclosed.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Supporters of a proposal to expand Medicaid say they have enough signatures to put a state question on the ballot next year. The Oklahoman reports that Yes on 802’s campaign manager Amber England says the community organization collected the state requirement of 178,000 signatures, which must be verified. The proposed question would amend the state’s constitution and expand Medicaid coverage to adults between ages 18 and 65 whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level. The conservative think tank Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs challenged the initial plan, but the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked it.

Oregon

West Linn: A 130-year-old paper mill is back open, two years after its abrupt closure. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the newly formed Willamette Falls Paper Co. restarted two months ago and is now trying out new classes of paper made from pulp and agricultural waste instead of wood. The mill said Monday that it plans to begin commercial production of coated and uncoated papers by mid-month. The plant closed in October 2017, citing “unforeseeable events” that reduced available pulp for making paper. The shutdown cost 250 workers their jobs. Earlier this year, Clark County investor Ken Peterson made a “multimillion-dollar” investment to get the mill operational again. Willamette Falls originally planned to hire 85 at the restarted mill but now employs 120, according to Phil Harding, the mill’s director of technology and sustainability.

Pennsylvania

New Castle: An election official didn’t think anything of the absentee ballot application until he saw the out-of-this-world voting location. The New Castle News reports the application to Lawrence County’s voter services department listed the location as “International Space Station, low Earth orbit.” Director Ed Allison says his reaction was “What?” But then he found out that astronaut Andrew “Drew” Morgan, currently on the space station, has an address in Neshannock Township and is a registered voter in the county. County IT director Rick DiBello set up a secure email and password and a fillable PDF file that Morgan received, filled out and sent back. DiBello says he thought “that is pretty cool.” And Allison calls it “very, very cool” and says: “This is the future.”

Rhode Island

Providence: The state has launched a new program to make more electric vehicle charging stations accessible to drivers. The Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources says it launched Electrify RI as an electric vehicle charging station incentive program. The $1.4 million program will help fund the installation of new charging stations at workplaces, multi-unit dwellings, and state, quasi-public and local government properties. The money is coming from a government settlement with Volkswagen, which modified vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. State Energy Commissioner Carol Grant says she wants to make it easier for people to install charging stations and “inspire drivers to go green,” to reduce transportation-related carbon emissions and pollutants.

South Carolina

Columbia: A group of moderate senators restored exceptions for rape and incest Tuesday to a measure to ban nearly all abortions in the state, sending the bill to the state Senate floor for a potential 2020 election year fight. The exceptions may be crucial for the bill to have any chance to pass. A proposal to ban abortions without them failed last year in South Carolina’s Republican-dominated Senate. The chamber is the last hurdle for the Fetal Heartbeat Protection from Abortion Act, which would make almost all abortions illegal once fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks after conception. The bill has always allowed an abortion if the mother’s life is in danger. It easily passed the House in April once the rape and incest exceptions were added, and Gov. Henry McMaster has said he will sign it no matter what.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: City councilors are considering whether to lift a ban on beekeeping. Two councilors have been working on the proposal to keep beehives within city limits for nearly a year. Theresa Stehly and Janet Brekke see beekeeping as a benefit to the environment. Their proposal creates a regulated system involving permits and fees along with education and training requirements. Ahead of Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Sioux Falls Animal Control Supervisor Julie DeJong said her officers will need to ensure they’re equipped to hand bee-related emergencies, should the proposal pass. The Rapid City Journal reports that in 2016 several people were injured and a dog was killed by bees that were being raised in Sturgis that had become agitated.

Tennessee

Nashville: Gov. Bill Lee says his administration is gearing up to use a portion of its $732 million in reserves from a federal welfare program for families with children. The large surplus has come under scrutiny after first being flagged last month in a report by the Beacon Center of Tennessee, a conservative think tank. According to the report, the state receives $190.9 million annually through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program but last year spent just $71.1 million of that money. Lee, a Republican, initially defended the reserve amount by arguing that the surplus would provide a cushion for a potential future economic downturn. However, on Monday, Lee told reporters he was open to using the surplus on a variety of options to continue helping Tennessee’s poor.

Texas

Dallas: A man previously freed after spending 15 years in prison for the 2001 killing of a teenager has been formally exonerated. The Dallas County district attorney’s office says the state’s top criminal court issued a ruling of “actual innocence” Monday in the case of Quintin Lee Alonzo. The 39-year-old Alonzo, who was in prison on a life sentence, was released in May 2018. He was convicted of murder in 2003 in the death of 18-year-old Santos Gauna, who was killed when a fight broke out at a Dallas party Alonzo attended. Another man confessed to Gauna’s killing in 2015 before he was executed for a different crime. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ ruling allows Alonzo to seek state compensation for being falsely imprisoned. The district attorney’s office says Alonzo’s is its 41st exoneration since 2001.

Utah

Ogden: A state lawmaker says she’s working on a proposal to study how implicit racial biases may play into the disproportionate number of minorities in the state prison system. Republican Rep. Marsha Judkins of Provo tells the Standard-Examiner she’s working on a prosecution transparency bill to be introduced next year that would require the collection of data about arrest, charging, sentencing and parole decisions. Utah Sentencing Commission numbers show 43% of people newly sentenced to prison in 2017 were racial or ethnic minorities. Census data shows minorities made up 20% of the population. Judkins says the statistics point to clear racial disparities. But without specific data, it’s hard to determine what’s driving it. The issue is important because Utah’s prison population is rising faster than any other state but Idaho.

Vermont

Burke: The federal receiver overseeing two ski resorts in the state after their owner was accused of massive fraud says Burke Mountain Resort will not be sold for at least a year. Michael Goldberg said in court filings earlier this month that he hoped to sell Jay Peak Resort by the summer of 2020. He also wrote that he was “fairly certain” the investors “will incur a significant loss of their principal investment.” Foreigners invested in various developments at Jay Peak through the EB-5 visa program, which helps them obtain permanent residency by investing at least $500,000 in job-creating developments in the U.S. Goldberg told the Caledonian Record that projects at Burke may not have created enough jobs under the EB-5 visa program, so the resort cannot be sold yet.

Virginia

Richmond: The state has added more than 300 acres to natural area preserves, including land near the Appalachian Trail. Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that the Department of Conservation and Recreation had acquired land around the state that will help protect rare plants and animals. That includes land in the Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve in Isle of Wight County, the Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve in Floyd County, and the Bald Knob Natural Area Preserve in Franklin County. The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club and the state also will share ownership of 125 acres in Rockingham County next to Shenandoah National Park.

Washington

Vancouver: Protesters at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, took steps Tuesday morning to block a shipment of pipeline meant for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project. KOIN reports at least five people climbed up and chained themselves on the dock off which the shipment was to be loaded. Other “kayaktivists” were in the surrounding water, rallying behind the climbers to stop this project they say “is jeopardizing a livable future for everyone on this planet.” Local law enforcement and the Coast Guard were monitoring the situation. The Trans Mountain Pipeline carries crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to the British Columbia coast for export. The expansion project would add a second parallel line that would nearly triple the system’s capacity.

West Virginia

Morgantown: Police say they have identified a source of suspected heroin-laced vaping solutions while investigating overdoses that sickened two high school students. Morgantown Police Chief Ed Preston says in a news release that an underage high school student has been identified as a suspect. Preston says detectives obtained a search warrant that resulted in the recovery of more than 100 charged vaping solutions, packaging materials, marijuana and empty vaping cartridges that were being filled with the suspected solution. Preston says one of the vaping pens was confirmed to be contaminated with heroin and other dangerous chemicals. Morgantown police spokesman Andrew Stacy says the exact source of the vaping pens that made the students sick last week remains under investigation.

Wisconsin

Moviegoers line up for the 2018 Milwaukee Film Festival at the Oriental Theatre.
Moviegoers line up for the 2018 Milwaukee Film Festival at the Oriental Theatre.

Milwaukee: The 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival pulled in a record 87,618 fans in its 15-day run, the festival’s nonprofit operator Milwaukee Film announced Tuesday. Attendance for the film festival, which concluded its run on a snowy Halloween, was up nearly 12% from 2018, when the festival had attendance of 78,510. Last year’s tally was a 6% drop from the previous year. Attendance totals for 2019 include 8,440 students who took part in education screenings at the festival’s home base, the Oriental Theatre. At the festival, the documentary “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am” received the Allan H. (Bud) and Suzanne L. Selig Audience Award for best feature, and “Tree #3” received the Selig Audience Award for best short film.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The state Department of Education has named a conference room after the longest-serving department employee to commemorate decades of her work. Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports Superintendent Jillian Balow honored Rita Watson on Monday with a plaque and surprise dedication for her 50-year work anniversary. Department officials say Watson, her husband and Balow ate with Gov. Mark Gordon and his wife Friday to celebrate the milestone. Officials say they plan to place a plaque outside the room as a tribute to her career. Balow says Watson has worked for every superintendent of public instruction since 1974. Watson says one of her favorite parts of the job was enabling others to do their best, and she hopes to be remembered by her work ethic and love for the job.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Slave rebellion reenactment, voting from space: News from around our 50 states